NELF: The US cosmetics brand eyeing pan-India expansion

The Indian beauty and cosmetic market is pegged at Rs 60 billion. With a growth rate of 15 to 20 per cent, it is expected to hit Rs 170 billion by 2020. With this rate, the opportunities that lie in this sector in India are evident. The global markets are aware of these opportunities and India has been seeing a spike in the number of international cosmetic brands entering the Indian market in the past couple of years.

NELF USA is one such brand from America that made its way to India two years ago and is now set for rapid expansion throughout the country in the next two years. In an interview with Wellness India, Nishant Jalan, who has now resigned as the Director, NELF Cosmetics India, talks about the brand’s India presence and expansion plans. Here are excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about NELF.

We are dealing with all the make-up cosmetics. NELF stands for Nail, Eyes, Lips and Face. We are dealing in 4-5 categories right now. This brand came to India in 2014. Right now, we are covering almost 13 states in India. By 2017, we are targeting a pan-India presence.

Do you have your own stores or distribution units?

Right now, we are not dealing with our own stores, but we have the concept out for franchising in malls or kiosks.

What is it that you are looking out for in your franchisee?

We are looking for people who have already acquired space or they are in touch with some malls or prime locations in markets where they can provide us space and we can install our setup there.

How many franchisees are you looking at in the next couple of years?

We are now at a stage where we will be covering all Indian states. Pan India, we should start with 50 stores/kiosks by the next year. We have already covered two.

What support will you be providing to your franchisee?

We will be providing the sales staff, promotional activities, interior concept which is on a 50-50 shared basis. All the marketing is done by the company.

Give us an overview of how challenging/beneficial it is getting an international brand into the Indian beauty market.

It’s all about the quality and not about the brand. If you talk about brands like Color Bar and Lotus, it’s all about the quality and its suitability to the Indian skin. We are very keen towards our quality control process and R&D. We have taken on board good quality manufacturers in India. We are getting products made that are best suited for Indian skin.

Where do you see India’s beauty and cosmetics industry five years from now?

I think it’s a good Rs 25,000 crore market in total and it is growing day by day. It’s showing a 20 per cent growth every year.

Do you think this growth will stay steady?

Of course, because if you see, for the last two years, it’s almost over 30 to 40 per cent.